Post #25,469
1/24/02 12:15:13 PM
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What really steams me...
is getting stuck behind a diesel powered bus in traffic. Public transportation at its worst. Can't they filter that particulate filth? Slap a big bong on the exhaust system. Use the residue to fill potholes or something.
Even if I presume the best of emission controls, it's obvious to me that the real problem is diesel trucks and buses, and nobody's doing squat about them. I don't much miss leaded gasoline, though.
[link|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html|http://www.angelfir...e/index.html]
Sometimes "tolerance" is just a word for not dealing with things.
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Post #25,495
1/24/02 1:21:29 PM
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diesel can be very low emission, but not in the US
First off, Europe was way behind the US in getting rid of lead (a very good thing to get rid of) -- leaded gasoline is still common in Spain and Italy, for example.
Diesel engines with very low emissions, good fuel economy, and decent performance can be made, at least for cars -- the TDI (turbocharged diesel engines with, IIRC, pretty fancy fuel injection) do all three and are quite popular in Europe, even in luxury cars (e.g. BMW, Audi, Saab). But the only company to sell TDI cars in the US? VW.
The problem? US diesel fuel isn't high enough quality for TDI engines, and no one seems interested in increasing its quality.
So I expect that it would be possible to improve truck diesel emissions, too -- and I suspect doing this would do a lot more for air cleanliness than the current expensive ideas beloved by certain groups (such as electric cars and more mass transit funding).
Tony
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Post #25,512
1/24/02 1:52:02 PM
1/24/02 1:52:34 PM
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Re: diesel can be very low emission, but not in the US
In the late 80's, a law was passed that would have diesel trucks be subject to emmission controls, just like cars, by the year 1995.
Guess what happend to that law?
Can you say "industry lobbyists"? I knew you could....
jb4
(Resistance is not futile...)
Edited by jb4
Jan. 24, 2002, 01:52:34 PM EST
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Post #25,568
1/24/02 4:28:09 PM
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When Ronny became President . .
. . one of his first acts was to cancel all research into diesel particulate (it was coming up with inconvenient results).
California has recently reinstated requirements for reduction of diesel particulate. This will probably spread to other states, especially since so much trucking passes through California.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #25,614
1/24/02 6:31:12 PM
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Thanks, Andrew
Thought it was a Repo move, but couldn't remember (insert getting old epithet here), and couldn't prove it. I didn't want to get into a flame war with the Beepster w/o a sufficient amount of napalm.
jb4
(Resistance is not futile...)
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Post #25,619
1/24/02 7:12:42 PM
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Nah, would've given you that one.
You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! Laurie Anderson
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #25,677
1/25/02 8:50:00 AM
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Thanks, buddy!
Still, like to be informed when dealing with you. A matter of respect and all that...
jb4
(Resistance is not futile...)
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Post #25,712
1/25/02 12:08:59 PM
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No prob...
...just try and remember I'm >right< (not as in correct) and not necessarily repo.
And since I am quickly becoming the only one here with that tendency thats willing to poke around in the politics forum...I feel obligated to play the game...after all...its fun.
You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! Laurie Anderson
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #25,637
1/24/02 8:16:07 PM
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Public Transportation.
What steams me about diesel busses is that so many of them replaces perfectly good working tram systems! There was a documentary some while ago about how the car makers tricked everyone into replacing trams and light-rail with busses.
Wade.
"All around me are nothing but fakes
Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
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Post #25,696
1/25/02 9:56:54 AM
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That's not quite what gets my goat
What steams me about bus public transportation is how screwed up the bus routes are. If they actually went where I wanted to go on a reasonably direct heading, I might take the bus more often.
"Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it."
-- Donald Knuth
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Post #25,783
1/25/02 6:14:26 PM
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Is this happening in Oz - today ??
Are you aware of the urban legend re General Motors' alleged plot to rip up all the small + large town RRs and fill em with GM buses?
Subsequent PhD theses n'such suggest that 'conspiracy' is likely a small exaggeration. But bonus deals for local politicos + "progress" BS for relelection - was an adequate de facto 'conspiracy'.
Now at massive expense (here) some light rail is coming back.. but the car obsession has become engrained in the DNA and 'logic' was never enough in any homo-sap decision.
Fight the trend! Unless you want to look like US and soon.. begin to act like US too [???] The numbers (cost) are vastly on your side IF.. Ozfolk don't all lust for a UAV in every hovel - thus will refuse to use efficient, fast public transport (?)
Ashton
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Post #25,927
1/27/02 12:48:43 AM
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Yes: said documentaary was US in origin and story.
Don't know how true it was, really, but it looked likely.
I really don't know why Sydney ditched its trams. I know their patronage had died since the years before the Depression, but Melbourne elected to keep theirs and spent a lot of money in the early '70s buying land and vastly upgrading the network. They're still expanding it today. Sydney, meanwhile has got one light-rail line, and I presume it's making money*, but adding more are a bit of a logistical and political nightmare - unlike Melbourne, Sydney doesn't really have wide enough city streets.
Wade.
* The media would tell us quicksmart if it wasn't - then too, most of it's run is on an otherwise disused goods line...
"All around me are nothing but fakes
Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
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